The Gift cover art

The Gift

The First Book of Pellinor

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The Gift

By: Alison Croggon
Narrated by: Eloise Oxer
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About this listen

Maerad is a slave in a desperate and unforgiving settlement, taken there as a child when her family is destroyed in war. She is unaware that she possesses a powerful gift, a gift that marks her as a member of the School of Pellinor. It is only when she is discovered by Cadvan, one of the great Bards of Lirigon, that her true heritage and extraordinary destiny unfolds. Now she and her teacher, Cadvan, must survive a punishing and uncertain journey through a time and place where the dark forces they battle with stem from the deepest recesses of other-worldly terror.

©2002 Alison Croggon (P)2011 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd Epic Fantasy Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy Fantasy

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Critic reviews

A compelling world of fantasy and conflict, beauty and bedevilment with a wonderfully drawn heroine in the fearless Maerad."A ripping read... fantasytastic!" ( Herald Sun)
"Rich and passionate, supremely satisfying." ( Kirkus Starred Review)
All stars
Most relevant  

What did you like most about The Gift?

Detailed world that was easy to visualise, characters with depth, a quest and no main love story the characters have more important and interesting things to do.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Gift?

The first battle

Which character – as performed by Eloise Oxer – was your favourite?

Cadvan

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes I got attached even to minor characters and was sad when inevitably some died

Any additional comments?

This book is a similar type to Lord of the rings only there are female characters with real purpose I loved it I wish this author had written more series

Tolkien meets canavan

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for this book to come out on audio. I read this for the first time in my early teens and i am now in my early twenties and still think this series is great. Cadvan is a great character and you will fall in love with him as he and Maerad fight for their lives. Read if you like books with magic and adventure also it reminded me of the lord of the rings and the hobbit.

How many years i waited

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its a good enough story as a first book in the series but the narrator seems to spend half of the book whispering and its so quiet i miss half of whats said when im listening at work

terrible narration

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I really like this book and I actually bought the paperback when it was originally published, so when I saw it was available on Audible I was very pleased. Unfortunately it doesn't live up to the printed version. The narrator has a nice voice until she starts voicing the characters, then it becomes grating and annoying. The voices often don't even match the characters that are speaking and for me it just distracts from the story. I also don't see the point in the weird musical interlude between the books. Think I will stick to the written versions instead.

Strange narration

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Great story with good, well thought out characters. However, something about the audio book made the story drag. When I originally read the story I couldn't put the book down. However, the audio book version dragged a little.

Great story

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This is the first book. While the description are lengthy it makes the book slow. If you like fantasy and other world battles this might be ok .☺

Slow in places

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The summary of this book sounded promising but I found the narration very dificult to listen to. I tried several times but found myself getting no further into the story the voice was so annoying that I gave up

The Gift? Not for me

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Would loved to of scene the author really show us something with more depth. I took a gamble on this, specially as the sample on here is of the authors thank you notes and not the actual book so it was a leap in the dark!

This is very standard fantasy, you will know where its going and how it will end and there are no surprises to keep you listening.

The narrator cant sing which takes something away from the story since there voice is suppose to be there magic. Not sure why they didnt hire a singer as its such a major part! takes so much credibility away.

Predicable fantasy & shocking singing.

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